Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of handles for gear shift levers in general and in particular to a palm and finger conformable handle construction for gear shift levers.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. DES. 218,602; DES. 215,276; DES. 214,786; DES. 209,902; DES. 160,094, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse contoured handle constructions.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical gear shift lever handle construction that is conformed not only to the user""s fingers, but also to the palm of a user""s hand to provide the user with a safe, efficient and virtually slip proof ergonomically designed handle construction for gear shift levers.
As virtually all competitive race car drivers are well aware, the ability to control a gear shift lever is of paramount importance in an automotive racing environment and can easily spell the difference in races decided by hundredths or thousandths of a second.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among race car drivers for a new and improved handle construction for gear shift levers that provides the maximum surface area contact between the race car driver""s fingers and palm to ensure a positive grip of the handle and control of the gear shift lever; and the provision of such a construction is the stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the handle construction for gear shift levers that forms the basis of the present invention comprises in general a one piece contoured handle member having a generally ovoidal configuration with certain portions missing from the top surface, the front face and the left side of the handle member.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, those missing portions of the ovoidal configuration define: a plurality of arcuate recesses that are dimensioned to receive a user""s fingers, a first extension recess that is dimensioned to receive a user""s thumb, and a second extension recess that cooperates with the first extension recess to create a raised lip on the rear portion of the top surface of the handle member that forms an abutment surface for the heel of the user""s palm.
In addition, all of the aforementioned recesses in the front face, top surface, and left side of the handle member fall within an area that is outlined by a tortuously configured continuous line that defines a three dimensional closed loop.